Death of American Virtue - Ken Gormley [529]
Years earlier, the chief had authored: Rehnquist, Grand Inquests; Trefousse, Impeachment of a President; Michael Les Benedict, The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson.
Rehnquist had no intention: Chief Justice Rehnquist would say very little about the Senate impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, before his death, other than to note dryly: “I was an observer like everyone else.” He would rebuff requests for interviews, telling would-be historians: “My role was almost ministerial. No witnesses were called, and there were very few objections to rule upon” (William H. Rehnquist to author, 14 Feb. 2000).
His paramount concern: James Duff, interview by author. Rehnquist prevailed on Senate leaders to schedule impeachment sessions in the afternoon, to avoid interfering with the Court’s calendar. He also refused to conduct proceedings in the Senate on Fridays, because that was the day the Court held its conferences.
Chapter 49: A Scottish Vote
Charles Ruff, representating the president: Senate video, 19 Jan. 1999; Congressional Record, 19 Jan. 1999; “The Impeachment Trial. Jan. 19: Ruff Begins the Defense,” washingtonpost.com, 19 Jan. 1999.
Chuck Ruff was no stranger: Daniel Becker, “Legends in the Law: Charles F.C. Ruff,” Washington Lawyer, April 2001, 31–35.
Ruff, who had graduated from Columbia: Susan Ruff, interview by author.
a series of government posts: Ruff was first a lawyer in the Criminal Division of the Justice Department. Later, he was an interim special prosecutor wrapping up the Watergate investigation, before going on to serve as U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.
Sue Ruff was glued: Susan Ruff, interview by author; Danny Westneat, “Impeachment Diary—Voice of Public Rains Down on Senate: ‘Get It Over With!’” Seattle Times, 5 Feb. 1999.
“a surgeon’s sense”: David Kendall, interview by author.
Each morning, Kendall and Ruff: Ibid.
“I mean, the State of the Union”: Robert Dove, interview by author.
House Manager Bob Barr stayed away: Frank Bruni, “State of the Union: The No Shows,” New York Times, 20 Jan. 1999.
“sit in my shorts”: Henry J. Hyde, interview by author.
“[show] that his personal travails”: Doug Sosnik, interview by author.
“Let us lift our eyes”: “Transcript: Clinton’s State of the Union Speech,” cnn.com, 20 Jan. 1999; Baker, The Breach, 319.
a grand slam over the bleachers: Tom Daschle, interview by author; Trent Lott, interview by author.
“I am not worried”: Senate video, 20 Jan. 1999; Congressional Record, 20 Jan. 1999; “The Impeachment Trial, Jan. 20: Mills on Obstruction of Justice Allegations,” washingtonpost.com, 20 Jan. 1999.
David Kendall: Senate video, 21 Jan. 1999; Congressional Record, 21 Jan. 1999; “The Impeachment Trial, Jan. 21: Kendall Defends the President,” washingtonpost.com, 21 Jan. 1999.
“That was Bill Clinton”: Richard A. Clarke, interview with author. See, also, “Remarks by President Bill Clinton on Keeping America Secure for the 21st Century,” National Academy of Sciences, 22 Jan. 1999.
Just as it appeared: Don Van Natta, Jr., “Starr Is Weighing Whether to Indict Sitting President,” New York Times, 31 Jan. 1999.
Conservative icon Robert Bork: Memorandum for the United States Concerning the Vice President’s Claim of Constitutional Immunity, 5 Oct. 1973, 20. In re Proceedings of the Grand Jury Impaneled December 5, 1972: Application of Spiro T. Agnew, Vice President of the United States (D. Md.1973) (No. 73–965). Then Solicitor General Bork wrote: “The Framers could not have contemplated prosecution of an incumbent President because they vested in him complete power over the execution of the laws, which includes, of course, the power to control prosecutions.” The principal point of Bork’s memo was that Vice President Spiro T. Agnew could be indicted and tried while in office, for alleged bribes taken as governor of Maryland, because a vice president stood in a completely different position than did the president, who was the unitary chief executive under the Constitution.
As one Republican: Ken Gormley, “Impeachment